New Roval Rapide CLX II

Wheels, Tires, Tubes, Tubeless, Tubs, Spokes, Hookless, Hubs, and more!

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The spirit of this board is to compile and organize wheels and tires related discussions.

If a new wheel tech is released, (say for example, TPU tubes, a brand new tire, or a new rim standard), feel free to start the discussion in the popular "Road". Your topic will eventually be moved here!
ABogle
Posts: 111
Joined: Mon Jun 21, 2021 8:21 pm

by ABogle

You might be able to get a good deal on the outgoing wheels. This is unhelpful if you are not in the UK, but Sigma sports discounted them, the alpinist even more. If you wait a bit the discounts may increase.

by Weenie


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ChairmanJiang
Posts: 90
Joined: Thu Jan 13, 2022 8:26 am

by ChairmanJiang

I already got my hands on it and the actual weight of the ALPINIST II is 1233 g.

FlatlandClimber
Posts: 2491
Joined: Tue Mar 31, 2020 3:37 pm

by FlatlandClimber

That's really light for a big brand tubeless wheel, but in the world of WW, it is rather unimpressive.
A Extralite C339 (hookless, I know) + Extralite Hubs + Sapim CX Ray spokes, is still sub 1100g. It is also deeper and wider.

The Rapide are what really makes this range of wheels for me, with the front wheel being the most stable aero wheel
I have ever ridden, and the set being super fast and light.
Cervelo P5 Disc (2021) 9.1kg
Factor Ostro Gravel (2023) 8.0kg
S-Works SL8 (2023) 6.3kg

*weights are race ready, size 58/L.
Sold: Venge, S5 Disc, Roubaix Team, Open WI.DE, Émonda, Shiv TT, Crux, Aethos, SL7

K4m1k4z3
Posts: 339
Joined: Sun Nov 05, 2017 1:33 pm

by K4m1k4z3

ryanw wrote:
Tue May 10, 2022 11:35 pm
but if you know what you're doing and use sensible tyres (not GP5000TL), these really are a bloody fantastic set of wheels and have been literally the best tubeless wheels I've owned (two years nearly).
What's wrong with 5000 TL?
'24 S-Works Tarmac SL8 RTP - soon™
'22 Tarmac SL7 Expert | Ultegra R8100 | Alpinist CL / Custom Rapide CLX 2x60
'19 Diverge E5 Comp
'18 Epic HT Comp Carbon WMN
'18 TCR Adv Pro 1 Disc

ome rodriguez
Posts: 1371
Joined: Fri Feb 24, 2006 9:16 am

by ome rodriguez

ChairmanJiang wrote:
Wed May 11, 2022 7:18 am
I already got my hands on it and the actual weight of the ALPINIST II is 1233 g.
Any photos?

aeroisnteverything
Posts: 893
Joined: Fri Aug 24, 2018 4:43 pm

by aeroisnteverything

TobinHatesYou wrote:
Tue May 10, 2022 11:26 pm
hannawald wrote:
Tue May 10, 2022 9:16 pm
There is an article on bikeradar where they explain it. They were meant to be tubeless but when Peter Sagan cracked the rim while testing the tire blew off. So they refused to run the risk. They redesigned the rim so when it cracks it cracks at the spoke area while being able to hold the tire. But it means they gained the weight.

It’s more that the rim bed was cracking under tubeless “back pressure” and eventually leading to catastrophic failure. Sagan’s incident merely revealed the design flaw in a more instantaneous manner. Basically the rim bed was compressing too much under inflation, suffering from stress cracking / delam and finally failing catastrophically with all that air rushing into the rim cavity and blowing out the sidewall of the rim.

Frankly I wouldn’t be tempted to buy gen1 Alpinists or Rapides knowing this info, but you guys do you.
Where did you read that? The description of the Sagan incident sounds pretty dramatic.

"This became apparent in 2019 while Peter Sagan was testing the then-still-to-be-released Alpinist CLX at a Bora-Hansgrohe training camp. Roval says the three-time world champion jumped a roundabout, came up short and impacted the curb. The result was a broken carbon rim with a tubeless tyre that blew off during the impact."

To me this sounds like a situation where I would be off the bike regardless of tubeless or non tubeless tyre, as an inner tube would definitely blow.

TobinHatesYou
Posts: 12457
Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2017 12:02 pm

by TobinHatesYou

aeroisnteverything wrote:
Wed May 11, 2022 5:22 pm

Where did you read that? The description of the Sagan incident sounds pretty dramatic.

"This became apparent in 2019 while Peter Sagan was testing the then-still-to-be-released Alpinist CLX at a Bora-Hansgrohe training camp. Roval says the three-time world champion jumped a roundabout, came up short and impacted the curb. The result was a broken carbon rim with a tubeless tyre that blew off during the impact."

To me this sounds like a situation where I would be off the bike regardless of tubeless or non tubeless tyre, as an inner tube would definitely blow.

Actually you're right, I misread. The issue was the rim bed blew out under pressure after a direct impact / pinch flat situation to the bead hook.

cat4forlife
Posts: 87
Joined: Thu Jul 16, 2020 7:42 pm

by cat4forlife

TobinHatesYou wrote:
Tue May 10, 2022 11:26 pm
It’s more that the rim bed was cracking under tubeless “back pressure” and eventually leading to catastrophic failure. Sagan’s incident merely revealed the design flaw in a more instantaneous manner. Basically the rim bed was compressing too much under inflation, suffering from stress cracking / delam and finally failing catastrophically with all that air rushing into the rim cavity and blowing out the sidewall of the rim.
From where did you find out that the rim bed was already suffering from stress fracture prior to the eventual impact that caused the catastrophic failure in Sagan's rim? I read both the CyclingTips and Bikeradar articles on the new rims but none of them mentioned this.

AlgarveCycling
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon May 02, 2022 6:12 pm

by AlgarveCycling

I'm not a fan of tubeless for my road bikes so gen 1 is my preference - for my MTB, absolutely, but I get far too few punctures to go down that route on my road bikes.

I have the Roval Rapide CLX gen 1's, with S-Tubo's in them.

cat4forlife
Posts: 87
Joined: Thu Jul 16, 2020 7:42 pm

by cat4forlife

ryanw wrote:
Tue May 10, 2022 11:35 pm
I must have some very lucky rim beds with circa 500,000km on them from 30+ sets of tubeless V1 wheels.

There's people on here who take scalpels to their carbon frames when stripping paint, and drilling components. I'd be a bit more concerned about that over a tried and tested set of "not tubeless" tubeless wheels.

I appreciate there's some morons out there who may have thrown 120psi into the wheels when setting up tubeless and potentially damaged a rim, but if you know what you're doing and use sensible tyres (not GP5000TL), these really are a bloody fantastic set of wheels and have been literally the best tubeless wheels I've owned (two years nearly).
Why would you go against the manufacturer's warning to not set these rims tubeless? When these rims were originally released with Specialized stating they were meant for use with inner tubes only, i knew something was amiss. After Sagan exploded his rim by hitting the curb, Specialized was able to consistently replicate that catastrophic rim failure with a rig they set up. The chances of this type of rim failure occuring must have been high enough for Specialized to NOT sell them as tubeless compatible even though they were designed to be. I just wish Specialized would have been honest with us in the first place, instead of giving us the marketing BS that they were faster with inner tubes.

I assume some, if not most, of the 30+ sets of V1 wheels that you set up tubeless were for your customers. If god forbid one of them has a serious injury because of that catastrophic rim failure, you know who won't be liable? Specialized. And i think you know the answer to who will be.

jlok
Posts: 2400
Joined: Tue Jun 30, 2015 3:30 am

by jlok

cat4forlife wrote:
Fri May 13, 2022 6:17 pm
ryanw wrote:
Tue May 10, 2022 11:35 pm
I must have some very lucky rim beds with circa 500,000km on them from 30+ sets of tubeless V1 wheels.

There's people on here who take scalpels to their carbon frames when stripping paint, and drilling components. I'd be a bit more concerned about that over a tried and tested set of "not tubeless" tubeless wheels.

I appreciate there's some morons out there who may have thrown 120psi into the wheels when setting up tubeless and potentially damaged a rim, but if you know what you're doing and use sensible tyres (not GP5000TL), these really are a bloody fantastic set of wheels and have been literally the best tubeless wheels I've owned (two years nearly).
Why would you go against the manufacturer's warning to not set these rims tubeless? When these rims were originally released with Specialized stating they were meant for use with inner tubes only, i knew something was amiss. After Sagan exploded his rim by hitting the curb, Specialized was able to consistently replicate that catastrophic rim failure with a rig they set up. The chances of this type of rim failure occuring must have been high enough for Specialized to NOT sell them as tubeless compatible even though they were designed to be. I just wish Specialized would have been honest with us in the first place, instead of giving us the marketing BS that they were faster with inner tubes.

I assume some, if not most, of the 30+ sets of V1 wheels that you set up tubeless were for your customers. If god forbid one of them has a serious injury because of that catastrophic rim failure, you know who won't be liable? Specialized. And i think you know the answer to who will be.
Many target customers just want a beautiful story to get on board and buy. Speshy has been doing great. Kudos to them. Forgive them. They need to feed pro riders ;)
Rikulau V9 DB Custom < BMC TM02 < Litespeed T1sl Disc < Giant Propel Advanced SL Disc 1 < Propel Adv < TCR Adv SL Disc < KTM Revelator Sky < CAAD 12 Disc < Domane S Disc < Alize < CAAD 10

Noro
Posts: 84
Joined: Thu Mar 11, 2021 11:18 am
Location: Europe

by Noro

JG220 wrote:
Tue May 10, 2022 8:12 pm
I've just ordered an Sworks Tarmac build at my LBS. Its a component build rather than a pre built bike.

Should i ask them to wait for CLX II which is now tubeless compatible before I take delivery?

I guess thoughts are:
-New wheels are probably even more money and I'm pretty much at my max
-I don't really mind running tubes as don't often suffer from punctures but I've never used Turbo Cottons before
-I'd like the bike as soon as possible, well be because 'new and shiny
-The new wheels might be 100g heavier?
Hi there,

I've just got them and this is my feedback. I've only ridden them twice so far:

- The reason why I've got them is that I am +/- 60 Kg living in a completely flat area. I need something to help me to be a little bit faster and hold into fast group rides.
- I had Zipp 303 and I completely prefer the Rapide over the Zipp. When I ride the Zipps I feel I am riding an MTB, are super smooth, they are effectively fast (not faster), but in the feeling, they don't feel fast. The Rapide, on the other hand, feel fast, feel stiff, and solid, they are comfortable and in my opinion more reactive.
- I love Turbo Cotton, I like Continental and Schwalbe and I was super happy with Schwalbe protection especially. But the Turbo Cotton again feels more reactive.
- On Tubeless, I don't like them, they work, they achieve their purpose but the lack of tire option for the Zipps and the hustle for the setup is not worth it. I don't puncture that often but ask me in 3 months.
- They are incredibly quiet like all my friends asked me 'what happened to your freehub?' they only sound when you do the engagement pedal stroke and sound like the engine of a good motorcycle, I love it.
- The ceramic bearing is noticeable, spinning for ages
- Man I hate the dust protectors for the endcaps, get good pliers to get them off for installing the wheels.
- Like the previous gem, the rim wall of the front wheel is noticeable and looks distressing.
- My first ride was on a windy day and better than Zipp 303 (IMHO), when a wind gust comes you feel only one predictable push, not like a tweaking front wheel.
- To my Aethos owner's friends. If you don't live in an extremely steep area, get the Rapides. the extra weight is not noticeable unless you are on a +/-10% clim.

Karvalo
Posts: 3444
Joined: Fri Aug 10, 2018 6:40 pm

by Karvalo

TobinHatesYou wrote:
Wed May 11, 2022 1:10 am
Not from direct impact though, from sudden hyperlocalized pressure increases acting on the rim bed when setup tubeless. With tubes, they claim the inner tube acts as a shock absorber, preventing those stress cracks.
That is very much not what they said at all.

Sleeprequired
Posts: 146
Joined: Fri Feb 22, 2019 10:59 am

by Sleeprequired

ryanw wrote:
Tue May 10, 2022 11:35 pm
I must have some very lucky rim beds with circa 500,000km on them from 30+ sets of tubeless V1 wheels.

There's people on here who take scalpels to their carbon frames when stripping paint, and drilling components. I'd be a bit more concerned about that over a tried and tested set of "not tubeless" tubeless wheels.

I appreciate there's some morons out there who may have thrown 120psi into the wheels when setting up tubeless and potentially damaged a rim, but if you know what you're doing and use sensible tyres (not GP5000TL), these really are a bloody fantastic set of wheels and have been literally the best tubeless wheels I've owned (two years nearly).
So why not gp5000 tubeless? What about the TR version. Genuine question.

poppiholla
Posts: 597
Joined: Wed Aug 03, 2011 1:18 pm

by poppiholla

Yesterday my new roval Rapide CLX 2 wheelset was deliverd. Super cool, but what a struggle to mount the tires to this rims. I am pretty good with mounting tyres and I had zero problems with wheels that I have. I also have zero problems with the Roval CL50 wheels. Mounting a set of Conti 5000s 28mm on the CLX 2 was a real struggle. I also tried the Specialized turbo coton's 26mm and that was a little bit easier but not much. Both I used Tubolito S inner tubes. I have blisters all over my hands. Do you have the same experience with the roval CLX or CLX 2 wheels?
Specialized Tarmac S-works SL7 (Satin carbon spectraflair tint)
Specialized Tarmac S-works SL6 (Green Cameleon)
Specialized Tarmac Pro SL6 Disc (Blue/Teal Sram Force AXS)
Specialized Epic Elite 29
Greetings from the Netherlands

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



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